Replaced
by Mirrored Perspective
Summary: Reever and Komui have been together for a while now, but suddenly Komui does something to shatter the bond between the two!
1. Chapter 1

Groggily opening his eyes, Reever slowly sat up in his bed. It took him a few minutes to adjust to being awake, but soon he was luxuriously stretching his arms above his head, arching his lean back. He rolled his shoulders around a few times, then turned to face the other occupant of the bed. His contented smile turned into a confused frown when he saw that Komui was missing. Or, rather, was not where Reever expected him to be. In fact, Komui's side of the bed was still as wrinkle-free as it had been the morning before when Reever made it. His frown deepening, Reever picked up his unnecessary alarm clock from his nightstand. _4:30...There's no way Komui would be up already this early. _Despite his growing uneasiness, Reever got up, straightening his sheets as he did so. He fluffed his pillow mechanically for added measure.

Somehow, Reever managed to dress himself while looking at the door to his and Komui's room every two seconds. He could just imagine Komui bursting through the door, greeting Reever with a can of chilled lemon soda. Or Komui, stumbling into the room, impossibly tired from pulling an all-nighter. But Komui didn't appear, not even thirty minutes later when Reever was checking himself over in the floor length mirror one last time before he left for work. Reever examined himself scrutinously. His white button-down shirt was partially hidden beneath a navy blue vest, its polished brass buttons gleaming in the sunlight beginning to slip through the curtains. He buckled his belt on his dark brown trousers, slipping his feet into shiny brown dress shoes. Finally, he slipped his two bracelets on, one on each wrist. Reever took a small pride in his appearance, at least at the start of the day. After hours of paperwork and nagging Komui and experiments and paperwork, his clothes were the last thing on his mind. But now, in the quiet early morning hours, Reever carefully rolled up the sleeves of his lab coat. Nodding briskly to himself in the mirror, Reever stepped outside and locked the door with a satisfying _click! _

A terrifying tower of paper balanced in his arms, Reever used his foot to open the door to Komui's office. "Good morning Supervisor. I hope you're ready to work, because I just found a backlog of paperwork you mistakenly put in the trashcan outside your office! Isn't that just the strangest thing?" Preparing himself for an onslaught of excuses, Reever dropped the papers on Komui's desk, a stern look already on his face. For the second time that morning, Reever frowned in confusion. _Wha...what?! _Komui's chair was undeniably, unmistakably empty. As was the rest of his messy work room. Reever's eyebrows furrowed as he stormed out of the room. _If he's not in our room, and he's not in his office...where is he?_ In his blinding rage, Reever bumped into a figure hurrying down the hallway. "Ouch...hey watch it!" Reever was not in the mood to be messed with, but when he saw Johnny's frightened face looking up at him from where he had fallen to the ground, his anger instantly dissipated. "Oh, Johnny! Hey! Sorry, I didn't see you there." Johnny gulped nervously, accepting Reever's outstretched hand with his own. "Don't worry about it Reever." Brushing himself off, Johnny began to walk as quickly as could down the stone hall. "Johnny, what's wrong?" Reever called after him. "All I can say is, don't go to the research lab if you want to live!" Johnny called over his shoulder as he practically ran away. Scratching the back of his head, Reever shrugged. _Can't be that much worse than anything I've seen before._


	2. Chapter 2

Reever strode through the glass and metal double doors of the main Research Lab, which to all the other scientists was also known as Komui's Lair. As Reever looked around the cavernous room, he could certainly see why. Huge piles of machinery lay everywhere, remnants of past projects gone bad. Coffee makers, at least a dozen, were placed on every available surface, along with bags of Komui's favorite coffee blend, Blue Mountain. And, of course, a few posters of Komui's weird pink rabbit were hung about on the white-washed concrete walls. _How does he even get those to stay up there? _Reever wondered to himself as he walked along a short gated passage to the central room of the lab. Komui was sure to be there. He had to be.

Komui did not disappoint. He was definitely there, in a gigantic bed in the middle of the room. He was there, in his soft white undershirt that he wore to sleep in, the one Reever liked especially because of how it framed Komui's firm and slender arms. A few other scientists were scattered about the room, all with the exact same bewildered expression as Reever on their faces. But it was not the sight of their Supervisor in a t-shirt and boxers sleeping in the lab that brought about their perplexed reactions. In fact, that happened far more often than it really should. No, it was the eight-foot tall robot laying next to Komui in the bed that really did it. The robot was massive, with clunky arms and legs, and weird spiky protrusions on the top of its head. Its single eye, a golden brown orb in the middle of its rectangular head, was making soft whirring sounds. Reever watched in disbelief as Komui snuggled up next to the robot, rubbing his head against the hard metal of its chest. "Oh Reeverin..." Komui mumbled in his sleep.

Later, Tup and Number 65 would swear that Reever had not run over to Komui's bedside, but had instead flown, like some kind of angry, wrathful bird seeking its prey. No matter how Reever got to his lover, the events that followed next were beyond questioning. Reever stood before the bed, hands on his hips, his face burning with indignation. "Komui" he said, a slight quiver barely discernible in his voice. Komui scrunched his face up, turning away from Reever to bury his face in his pillow. "Komui. It's time to wake up." Reever gently shook Komui by his shoulders. "Maaaaaaah," Komui replied, swatting away Reever's hands with flailing arms. "Komui! Lavi and Lenalee are getting married!" With a heartbreaking cry, Komui jerked up from his pillow, resting his weight on his outstretched arms. "No! My sweet Lenalee!" Reever rolled his eyes and lightly chopped Komui on the back of his head.

"No one's getting married Komui, don't worry. But I do have a few questions for you." Reever said, in as stern a voice as he could muster, what with Komui's disheveled hair and the imprints of his pillowcase on his face. Collecting himself immediately, Komui sat upright, quickly putting on his beret and glasses. "Of course, Reever. How may I help you?" Reever smiled despite himself, and sat down on the bed next to Komui. "Well...Komui. Why are you here?" The tall Asian man stared at him quizzically. "I was sleeping? In my bed? Are you okay, Reever?" "I should be the one asking you that. This isn't your bedroom. This is the Research Lab. And this is not your bed, I assure you." Komui, eyes narrowed, glanced around the room. Slowly, he pulled the covers up to his chin. "It seems you're right Mr. Wenhamm. If you would be so kind as to tell me what the hell I'm doing in here?" Komui whispered. Reever looked pointedly over to the robot still making whirring sounds, and Komui's gaze followed.

Suddenly, Komui started squealing like a teenage girl. "Ooooh Reeverin! I almost forgot about you, my lovely! It won't ever happen again!" The robot made a chirruping noise in return. "Wait. What did you just say?" Komui turned awkwardly to make contact with Reever's emotionless eyes. "Uh..."he adjusted his glasses, obviously stalling. "Um, well. I was just saying hello to my Reeverin. I mean Reeverin. Just Reeverin. He's a robot. I made him. Ah ha ha..." Komui's laughter trailed off as Reever's dead eyes bored straight through his skull. "That robot...his name is Reeverin? Like, me Reever?" Komui's face lit up in a delighted smile. "So you noticed! Yes, this is my Reeverin! I've been working on him for weeks! Isn't he just the cutest?" Komui made kissing motions with his mouth at the robot, who blushed a metallic red. "Reeverin. This a a robot version of me. And you're sleeping with it." Komui nodded eagerly. "Yes! He does everything you do, only more efficiently! He'll make life so much easier around here!" "You still haven't explained what you're doing in bed with him." Komui's grin widened. "Well, I finished him last night, and I was just so excited I had to build a bed for us to spend his first night together in."

Reever wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. Komui had built a Reever robot. Reeverin was better than him, Komui had said. Reeverin would make his life easier. Reeverin was replacing the inefficient human Reever. Holding back a veritable onslaught of emotions, Reever laughed weakly and wished Komui farewell before he stumbled out of the lab. It was only when he was safely back in his room that the hot tears of frustration began to roll down his stubbled cheeks.


End file.
